PrepZone: Palmetto Ridge sending 11 Bears to next level

Palmetto Ridge High School set a new milestone in its world of sports.

On Friday afternoon in the campus auditorium, 11 student-athletes sat side-by-side and signed their letters of intent to continue their careers. Five sports were represented, and seven schools had their logos shown off to the crowd of Bears friends and family.

Athletic director Erik Timko said he is fortunate to have this type of notoriety come from a school which is rebuilding in many areas.

“They kind of started the legacy of what it means to be a Bear athlete,” Timko said. “They’ve shown what it takes to make it to the next level. We had two players sign early in the year, so we have 13 total. They’re setting the tone.”

Timko said it all comes down to the player’s willingness to listen to their coaches and buy into their program. Timko said his coaches have worked tirelessly to find spots for these players to land. Players like Tatiana Ortega, a basketball standout, could have been one of those players still searching after a torn anterior cruciate ligament almost wiped away her season.

“It took a lot of persistence with my orthopedic surgeon to be able to play. He said ‘Once it’s torn, it’s gone,’” Ortega said.

She bounced back to finish the year, and still ended up leading the team in points. Lacrosse had three Bears in Sean Zaranek, Amy Molina and Emily Daley make the leap to the next level. Molina had no idea on how to look for a lacrosse scholarship. This lasted until her coach moved to Massachusetts to work for Framingham State University. Molina was referred, and in no time, Framingham scouts were starting to follow.

Laura Mastandrea is going to stay a little closer to home. She will be following in her sister’s footsteps to play soccer at Ave Maria. Mastandrea assured her sister had no hand in the recruitment process, but she’s still excited to continue a family trend.

“I’m not really about the stats,” Mastandrea said. “I’m about the team as a whole. How are we working together?”

Franco Real, the lone baseball recruit, will go to Flagler College. Real said he’s not much of a home-run hitter. He likes to focus on finding the gaps to get singles and doubles. His stats prove he can deliver. With a .414 on-base percentage and a .320 batting average, Real knows he can improve the numbers.

“I just want to push the team farther,” Real said. “I just want to work hard and make the team strive.”

Five football players signed on the dotted line, with three going to the same college. Archnell Souvenir, Tyler Fillios and Tony Lesende will be attending Dean College. Andy Garcia and Tyler McLaughin will be at Webber International.

Of all the reasons these five chose their schools, Souvenir’s reasoning didn’t hit him until last minute. He received an offer from Florida Atlantic University, but it was taken away after a new head coach was in place. He didn’t plan on going to Dean’s recruiting fair until the school contacted head coach Ryan Mitchell saying they wanted to see Souvenir. After listening to the speech made by Dean’s staff, he was all but sold.

“Hearing him talk about the opportunities I could have being a part of the team, as well as the chance to be re-recruited and go on to the next level in Division I, that just stuck with me ever since,” Souvenir said.